“Yue’er!”
“Prince Li!”
Everyone was shocked when they saw the two people appear.
Aren’t the two people holding each other and walking out Chu Liuyue and Rong Xiu, who were stuck in Jiuyou Tower earlier?
Chu Ning walked over with big strides. As he sized Chu Liuyue up, he anxiously asked, “Yue’er! Are you okay?”
His heart felt a pang when he saw the bloody mess and dirt on Chu Liuyue’s body. “You’re injured?”
Chu Liuyue’s lips were dry and white as she weakly shook her head. “No… But His Highness…”
Chu Ning then saw that Rong Xiu—whom Chu Liuyue was holding—seemed to be in a worse condition.
Rong Xiu’s face was as pale as ever, and he was barely breathing. It seemed as though he could faint at any moment. Moreover, he had many wounds on his body, and some of them were so deep that one could see his bones.
“Your Highness, what happened?”
“Seven!” When Emperor Jiawen saw Rong Xiu come out, he was surprised and elated as he hurriedly walked over.
But when he saw that Rong Xiu’s body was covered with wounds, his happiness immediately subsided and was replaced with deep shock and worry. “Seven, what happened to you?! Zuo Rong? Elder Sun? Come over and take a look!”
Zuo Rong was originally beside him and hurriedly went forward when he heard the Emperor’s call.
Sun Zhongyan, Elder Ye, and the rest—who planned to enter the debris not far away—also rushed over when they heard the commotion.
Ever since the Empress saw Chu Liuyue and Rong Xiu appear, she stood rooted to the ground and couldn’t recover her senses for a long time. The two of them… The two of them are actually not dead?! Such a big commotion erupted in Jiuyou Tower—First came the fire; then, the collapse! How lucky must they be for them to come out alive?!
But when she saw how Emperor Jiawen had already walked over, she clenched her teeth and could only follow.
…
Zuo Rong took Rong Xiu’s pulse.
Emperor Jiawen asked, “How is he?”
Zuo Rong knitted his brows and thought for a moment before saying, “Your Highness, don’t worry too much first. His Highness’s wounds are mostly superficial, and he can quickly recover as long as he rests properly.”
“That’s great; that’s great…” The stone in Emperor Jiawen’s heart was finally put down. Even though he’s injured, at least he’s alive! It’s already much better than I imagined!
Zuo Rong said hesitantly, “But…”
“But what?” Emperor Jiawen was stunned.
“But… His Highness’s body has always been weak, and we finally managed to slightly nourish him to health previously. This time… I’m afraid we have to restart the process.”
Disappointment flashed across Emperor Jiawen’s eyes. Rong Xiu has always been frail since he was young. Now that he finally turned for the better, this…
“It’s fine. We can talk about this later. The most important thing now is to treat the wounds on his body!”
Rong Xiu forcefully pulled at his pale lips, and his voice was soft. “Father…”
Emperor Jiawen hurriedly said, “Rest first! We can talk about anything later!”
At this moment, Ye Zhiting and Sun Zhongyan had already walked over. “Lass, how are you?”
The first thing in Ye Zhiting’s eyes was his precious disciple.
Chu Liuyue hurriedly said, “Mentor, I’m fine. You should take a look at Prince Li first.”
Ye Zhiting relaxed quite a bit when he noticed that she was speaking fine, though she looked disheveled.
“That’s great; that’s great…” Even though he really wanted to take Chu Liuyue’s pulse, he thought that his precious disciple might be better than him at this. Thus, he decisively gave up.
She always knew what to do. Hence, he looked at Rong Xiu.
He walked forward and asked Zuo Rong, “How is he?”
Zuo Rong briefly explained Rong Xiu’s condition.
Ye Zhiting listened as he helped Rong Xiu take his pulse.
Everyone present knew that Ye Zhiting was the strongest heavenly doctor here, so nobody felt that it was unnecessary for him to read the pulse a second time. Instead, they felt more secure.
After a temporary silence, Ye Zhiting nodded, took out a pill, and fed it to Rong Xiu. “His Highness’s body is fine. I’ll help you stop the bleeding first. When we go back, I’ll treat your wounds. In less than half a month, your superficial injuries can all heal. As for your internal ones…”
“He has internal injuries?!” interrupted Emperor Jiawen.
Ye Zhiting looked at him as if it was obvious. “Of course. His wounds were clearly made when the rocks crashed down. Also, Jiuyou Tower’s stones are very heavy, so it’s normal for them to cause internal injuries. But there’s no need to worry since the earlier pill can help his blood circulate and heal His Highness’s internal injuries. He probably needs a month or so to recover fully, but Your Majesty, you don’t have to be overly worried.”
Emperor Jiawen was worried and happy. Knowing that this was already the best result, he could only nod. “Thank you, Elder Ye.”
Ye Zhiting exchanged a few words with Zuo Rong softly.
Zuo Rong wiped the sweat away from his forehead. “Thank you for your enlightenment, Director!”
Previously, he was too anxious and was never a master in this area. Hence, he didn’t realize that Rong Xiu’s internal organs had problems as well.
Emperor Jiawen was luckily too focused on Rong Xiu, so he didn’t notice this. “Seven, you can’t do this in the future anymore! Jiuyou Tower is so dangerous; how can you go there?” said Emperor Jiawen softly.
It seemed like a scolding, but everyone could tell the worry in his voice.
After today, everyone in the Imperial City would know that His Majesty really doted on Prince Li. Even the Crown Prince might not receive such treatment.
Some people huddled together and whispered.
“I’ve long heard that His Majesty really doted on this Prince Li. If not, it would be impossible to confer him a title once he came back. Now, it seems like it’s true…”
“For so many years, when did you see His Majesty being so concerned about his princes and princesses? Even the unruly Fourth Princess back then didn’t receive such treatment, right?”
“Hmph, now that Fourth Princess has already become an invalid, how can they be compared? The Crown Prince though… Did you hear that the Crown Prince accidentally angered His Majesty a while back and was grounded in Crown Prince Mansion for quite some time? His Majesty even recollected some of his authority. Could it be that His Majesty is changing his mind?”
“Shh! Speak softer! Can’t you see that His Majesty and the Empress are behind? Though, I don’t think so. Think about it, even if His Majesty really loves Prince Li, how can a sickly person bear such huge responsibilities?”
“That’s true. But if Prince Li’s body can become better, he might really be the Crown Prince’s strong competitor.”
The Empress could only hear bits and portions of the whispers. However, they were enough for her to be filled with indignance.
She forcefully suppressed her tumultuous feelings as she looked at Chu Liuyue and Rong Xiu. “Prince Li, I heard that you went into Jiuyou Tower after it started burning. It was so dangerous then, so why did you go in?”
Her voice was light and gentle as she smiled slightly, but her eyes were icy cold. “I heard that only Ms. Chu was inside, right? Your Highness, did you get into all this mess just because you wanted to save her?”
